Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is expanding its trading and fund management capability in Hong Kong. The decision will facilitate local market hour coverage for Asian equity trading and Asian index fund management, as responsibility is transferred to the Hong Kong-based arm of the global trading team.
LGIM’s local Asian market presence has grown in recent years, in line with the firm’s strategic commitment to be a global provider of investment solutions. LGIM Asia launched in 2012, led by Alan Flynn, to provide investment solutions to the Asian pension and retirement savings market. In 2014, LGIM appointed Paul So as head of index funds for Asia Pacific, to further develop the business’s international growth strategy in Hong Kong. In 2016, fund manager Kelvin Tong relocated from LGIM in London to Hong Kong, bolstering the skill and resources of the local team. LGIM Asia now has a team of 10 based in Hong Kong, servicing institutional clients in the region, and is growing steadily.
LGIM Asia recently appointed Danny Kwok as head of APAC equity trading, reporting to Ed Wicks, global head of equity trading. Danny previously worked for HSBC Global Asset Management in a senior trading capacity, responsible for daily order flow in cash equities and equity derivatives. Between 2007 and 2011 he was employed by Macquarie as an equity derivatives trader.
With LGIM Asia’s operational and trading capability in place, LGIM transferred the trading and execution for all Asian equity orders to LGIM Asia, effective 26 July 2017. During the fourth quarter 2017, the investment management of multiple equity index funds will also be transferred to LGIM Asia’s fund managers in Hong Kong, along with equity derivative orders. The funds are currently managed by LGIM’s equity index teams in London and Chicago that together oversee $290bn of assets.
Alan Flynn, head of LGIM Asia, commented: “We have developed our trading and fund management capability in Hong Kong, as well as the supporting infrastructure, in order to provide the best solutions for our clients over the long-term. We have already seen several benefits to having assets managed within the time zone for which the underlying securities are listed and transacted. By having local execution, fund management expertise, fund vehicles and infrastructure, we will be better able to respond to regional opportunities and client needs.”
Chad Rakvin, head of global index funds, commented: “Since establishing LGIM Asia in Hong Kong five years ago, we have won various clients with index, fixed income and multi-asset mandates in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, and Asia continues to present multiple opportunities where we feel we could deploy our expertise and services. We believe this change in fund management arrangements is the best solution for the continued, long-term management of the Funds in question and will meet the needs of the Asian client segments we have attracted so far.”
